Purdue Extension – Porter County is Accepting Applications for Fall 2017 Master Gardener Classes

Po-Co-Master-Gardener-Show-2014-1If you love gardening and would like to share your passion with others, Purdue Extension – Porter County wants you! “We are accepting applications for the fall class, which will be held on Tuesdays from Sept. 5 through Nov. 28,” said Lyndsay Ploehn, Purdue Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Associated Educator. Classes will be held 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CDT at the Porter County Government Center on Indiana Ave. in Valparaiso. Anyone with a green thumb and a desire to help the community through gardening programs is invited to apply.

The classes cover 12 core topics including Indiana soils and plant botany, flower and vegetable gardening, when and how to use herbicides, insects and plant diseases, and landscape design. Presenters include Purdue University Specialists and Advanced Master Gardeners.

“Anyone may apply and we welcome all serious gardeners. But I want to stress that the Purdue Extension Master Gardeners are community volunteers who work to help others grow better gardens,” Ploehn said. Applicants will need to share why they want to become a Purdue Extension volunteer, and must give 35 volunteer hours in order to advance from Intern to Master Gardener.

The deadline is July 31, 2017. Find the application form on the web at the Purdue Extension website: www.extension.purdue.edu/porter  or  https://extension.purdue.edu/porter/Pages/article.aspx?intItemID=13221 . For more information, call Angel at 219-465-3555 or write or lploehn@purdue.edu